The Justice Department invoked the Alien Terrorist Removal Court for the first time since its 1996 creation to seek deportation of 47-year-old Nazira Haji Zada, an Afghan woman residing in Fort Worth, Texas [1, 2, 3]. She is accused of supporting an ISIS-inspired mass shooting plot targeting voters on the 2024 U.S. Election Day involving her sons and son-in-law [1, 2, 3].
Nazira's sons, Abdullah Haji Zada and Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, both pleaded guilty to firearms and terrorism-related charges. Abdullah was sentenced in November 2024 to 15 years in prison and agreed to deportation after release [1, 2, 3]. Nasir Tawhedi pleaded guilty in 2025 [2]. No criminal charges have been filed against Nazira herself. However, the department says a preponderance of evidence, including classified material, supports her involvement [1, 2, 3].
An FBI memo dated July 15 details allegations that Nazira supported ISIS ideology, helped indoctrinate her children, and collaborated with Tawhedi to conceal their pro-ISIS activities and plan to relocate them to ISIS territory [1, 2, 3]. The memo cites classified information not publicly disclosed.
The Alien Terrorist Removal Court, established by Congress in 1996, allows deportation proceedings based on classified evidence. It has never been used before this case [1, 2, 3]. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said, "Congress created the Alien Terrorist Removal Court three decades ago to remove from the United States alien terrorists who never should have been here in the first place" [1]. He added, "The allegations in this case show the matriarch of an ISIS (Daesh)-sympathizing family aiding in a plot to launch a mass casualty attack on American voters on Election Day" [2]. He also said, "The Department’s application in this court makes clear that terrorists have no place in the United States of America" [3].
The initial hearing in the Alien Terrorist Removal Court for Nazira's deportation was held on July 30, 2026, in Washington, DC [1, 2, 3].
